IT IS too early to tell if Hawthorn's "yo-yo" start to the season can be blamed on a lack of hunger for a premiership three-peat, coach Alastair Clarkson says.
The Hawks are yet to string together consecutive wins in 2015 and sit eighth on the ladder with a 3-3 win-loss record following their shock 10-point loss to Greater Western Sydney last round.
Hawthorn's up-and-down form has even prompted Melbourne forward Chris Dawes to claim the reigning premiers are "really gettable" this Saturday at the MCG, despite the Demons' 11-game losing streak to the Hawks by an average margin of 50 points.
When quizzed by reporters about his side's inconsistency on Friday, Clarkson conceded he couldn't be sure if the Hawks' hunger for flags had been sated by winning two-in-a-row.
"It's a difficult one. That will be proved over the test of time, I suppose. There was nothing the players presented over summer that gave us any indication that they weren't really motivated to perform really well," he said.
"We've played against some good sides, it's just been some momentary lapses in concentration and effort throughout the course of games that hasn't got us across the line, so we need to correct that over the next few weeks."
If Hawthorn's form line has been "a bit like a yo-yo", then Melbourne should be wary.
The Hawks have ruthlessly bounced back from losses by thrashing the Western Bulldogs by 70 points in round three and North Melbourne by 10 goals in round five.
But there have been too many fluctuations in effort and skill errors within Hawthorn's defeats for Clarkson's liking.
"When we've had bad quarters we've really let it slip, let teams kick four or five goals on the trot," he said.
"I think 13 or 14 of their (GWS') 16 goals came from turnovers last week. That's unlike us that we turn the ball over so frequently through the middle of the ground.
"Some of it was our mistake, some of it was forced by GWS to their credit. They played a good brand of footy and put some pressure on the ball carrier and forced us into some errors that we don’t usually make."
The Hawks responded to the defeat by axing Jed Anderson and Brendan Whitecross for defenders Angus Litherland and James Frawley – who will return from a torn pectoral to face his former team.
"We've just been a little bit undermanned in our back end for talls at different stages," Clarkson said.
"Hopefully Angus and Frawley coming into the side will help with our stability in our back end a bit.
"It's ironic that he (Frawley) plays against his old side in his first one back. He's an important player for our back end and we're excited to get him back into the side.
"Our medical guys have given him the all clear in terms of his rehab, and we wouldn't be playing him if we didn't think he was capable of playing some good footy for us."
Erring on the side of caution, the Hawks resisted recalling fullback Brian Lake (knee) earlier than expected this weekend.
"He's pretty close but he's got a medial ligament that was reasonably significant at the time so we've got to make sure that's totally right," Clarkson said.
"We've got to make sure that when he does return he can play some good footy for us over a sustained period."
Clarkson was positive about the AFL's proposed alternative '17-5 model' for the fixture, despite the proposal being knocked back by club CEOs at a meeting on Thursday.
“I think anything that they explore that makes it a more exciting spectacle right throughout the course of the year and keeps the season alive for a long, long period of time is a good thing," he said.
“My preference is in the first 17 rounds of the season you just play the 17 opposition clubs all in a row.
“I really like the idea of starting from 1-17 against opposition, so at the end of round 17 you’ve got a pretty good feel for how your team’s performed against every other team in the competition at that point."
